A 20-minute bout of yoga stimulates brain function immediately after

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers report that a single, 20-minute session of Hatha yoga significantly improved participants’ speed and accuracy on tests of working memory and inhibitory control, two measures of brain function associated with the ability to maintain focus and take in, retain and use new information. Participants performed significantly better immediately after the yoga practice than after moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise for the same amount of time.

The 30 study subjects were young, female, undergraduate students. The new findings appear in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.

“Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life that includes not only physical movements and postures but also regulated breathing and meditation,” said Neha Gothe, who led the study while a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gothe now is a professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. “The practice involves an active attentional or mindfulness component but its potential benefits have not been thoroughly explored.”

“Yoga is becoming an increasingly popular form of exercise in the U.S. and it is imperative to systematically examine its health benefits, especially the mental health benefits that this unique mind-body form of activity may offer,” said Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Edward McAuley, who directs the Exercise Psychology Laboratory where the study was conducted.

The yoga intervention involved a 20-minute progression of seated, standing and supine yoga postures that included isometric contraction and relaxation of different muscle groups and regulated breathing. The session concluded with a meditative posture and deep breathing. Participants also completed an aerobic exercise session where they walked or jogged on a treadmill for 20 minutes. Each subject worked out at a suitable speed and incline of the treadmill, with the goal of maintaining 60 to 70 percent of her maximum heart rate throughout the exercise session.

“This range was chosen to replicate previous findings that have shown improved cognitive performance in response to this intensity,” the researchers reported.

Gothe and her colleagues were surprised to see that participants showed more improvement in their reaction times and accuracy on cognitive tasks after yoga practice than after the aerobic exercise session, which showed no significant improvements on the working memory and inhibitory control scores.

“It appears that following yoga practice, the participants were better able to focus their mental resources, process information quickly, more accurately and also learn, hold and update pieces of information more effectively than after performing an aerobic exercise bout,” Gothe said. “The breathing and meditative exercises aim at calming the mind and body and keeping distracting thoughts away while you focus on your body, posture or breath. Maybe these processes translate beyond yoga practice when you try to perform mental tasks or day-to-day activities.”

Many factors could explain the results, Gothe said. “Enhanced self-awareness that comes with meditational exercises is just one of the possible mechanisms. Besides, meditation and breathing exercises are known to reduce anxiety and stress, which in turn can improve scores on some cognitive tests,” she said.

“We only examined the effects of a 20-minute bout of yoga and aerobic exercise in this study among female undergraduates,” McAuley said. “However, this study is extremely timely and the results will enable yoga researchers to power and design their interventions in the future. We see similar promising findings among older adults as well. Yoga research is in its nascent stages and with its increasing popularity across the globe, researchers need to adopt rigorous systematic approaches to examine not only its cognitive but also physical health benefits across the lifespan.”

The research team included U. of I. kinesiology and community health professor Charles Hillman and Michigan State University kinesiology professor Matthew Pontifex (a U. of I. alumnus).

Source

Water immersion recovery for athletes

 

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Sports Med. 2013 Jun 7. [Epub ahead of print]; Water Immersion Recovery for Athletes: Effect on Exercise Performance and Practical Recommendations; Versey NG, Halson SL, Dawson BT
Source
Performance Recovery, Australian Institute of Sport, PO Box 176, Belconnen, Canberra, ACT, 2616, Australia, nathan.versey@gmail.com.
Abstract

Water immersion is increasingly being used by elite athletes seeking to minimize fatigue and accelerate post-exercise recovery. Accelerated short-term (hours to days) recovery may improve competition performance, allow greater training loads or enhance the effect of a given training load. However, the optimal water immersion protocols to assist short-term recovery of performance still remain unclear. This article will review the water immersion recovery protocols investigated in the literature, their effects on performance recovery, briefly outline the potential mechanisms involved and provide practical recommendations for their use by athletes. For the purposes of this review, water immersion has been divided into four techniques according to water temperature: cold water immersion (CWI; ≤20 °C), hot water immersion (HWI; ≥36 °C), contrast water therapy (CWT; alternating CWI and HWI) and thermoneutral water immersion (TWI; >20 to <36 °C). Numerous articles have reported that CWI can enhance recovery of performance in a variety of sports, with immersion in 10-15 °C water for 5-15 min duration appearing to be most effective at accelerating performance recovery. However, the optimal CWI duration may depend on the water temperature, and the time between CWI and the subsequent exercise bout appears to influence the effect on performance. The few studies examining the effect of post-exercise HWI on subsequent performance have reported conflicting findings; therefore the effect of HWI on performance recovery is unclear. CWT is most likely to enhance performance recovery when equal time is spent in hot and cold water, individual immersion durations are short (~1 min) and the total immersion duration is up to approximately 15 min. A dose-response relationship between CWT duration and recovery of exercise performance is unlikely to exist. Some articles that have reported CWT to not enhance performance recovery have had methodological issues, such as failing to detect a decrease in performance in control trials, not performing full-body immersion, or using hot showers instead of pools. TWI has been investigated as both a control to determine the effect of water temperature on performance recovery, and as an intervention itself. However, due to conflicting findings it is uncertain whether TWI improves recovery of subsequent exercise performance. Both CWI and CWT appear likely to assist recovery of exercise performance more than HWI and TWI; however, it is unclear which technique is most effective. While the literature on the use of water immersion for recovery of exercise performance is increasing, further research is required to obtain a more complete understanding of the effects on performance.
Source

New UK research centre to reduce sports injuries’ risk

 

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

The Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis brings together for the first time in Europe experts in sports medicine and osteoarthritis, aiming to reduce the risk of sports injury developing into osteoarthritis.
On Monday (10th June) Arthritis Research UK will launch a new £3m research centre aiming to reduce the impact of sports injuries incurred by elite and recreational players and understand why some sport and exercise injuries develop into debilitating osteoarthritis in later life.
Researchers at the new Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis, led by Nottingham University Hospitals and The Universities of Nottingham and Oxford, aim to develop better injury treatments and screening tools to predict an individual’s risk of developing osteoarthritis following sports injury.
Centre director Professor Mark Batt, consultant in sport and exercise medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals, explained:
“Regular exercise is vital to keep your joints healthy and the long-term benefits of exercise far outweigh the risk of injury.
“Our centre aims to keep people of all sporting abilities active and injury-free by developing definitive, evidence-based advice and information to minimise the consequence of injury and recommend effective treatments to reduce long-term damage.
“This is the first time in Europe that specialists in sports medicine and osteoarthritis are combining their expertise to understand why some sports injuries will go on to develop into osteoarthritis, and whether we can prevent or slow down degeneration of the joints.”
An injury to the joint is one of the main risk factors for osteoarthritis, along with ageing and obesity. Approximately 8 million people in the UK are affected by osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of joint disease. A poll carried out by Arthritis Research UK in 2011[1] found 40% of active people were worried about limited mobility and joint problems in the future.
Young footballers are at particular risk from a potentially career-ending form of groin injury called femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).The cause is not known but over-training as the bones are developing may play a role. In FAI the head of the thigh bone rubs against the socket, leading to intermittent groin or hip pain in the short term, and potentially osteoarthritis of the hip in the longer term.
Arthritis Research UK researchers will scan young footballers aged nine from a number of professional football academies, using state-of-the-art MRI, every two years. They will be compared to two other same-age groups – ordinary schoolboys and also young elite athletes from other sports.
The sophisticated MRI scans will be able to pick up holes or cracks in cartilage and metabolic changes to cartilage and bone, so training movements could be modified or avoided to prevent injury occurring.

The researchers will also design a range of targeted training programmes aimed at reducing the incidence of injuries in professional footballers – a concept known in the sports medicine world as ‘pre-habilitation’. This will involve developing ways of improving training and warm-ups to reduce the incidence of injuries such as pulled muscles and tendons, to ensure that players use their muscles correctly and don’t overload their joints during matches and in training. They hope their research will enhance current FIFA (F-Marc: Football for health) and 11-plus guidelines on warming-up.
Rickie Lambert, the Southampton FC striker who has experienced hip pain but has managed it successfully through exercise, supports the new centre.
He said:
“Hip pain is one of the most common injuries amongst footballers, and lots of players have to retire early if they don’t get the correct treatment. I’ve been very lucky at my club; I’ve got certain exercises I do that have helped me and improve the problems I’ve had.
“Making sure young footballer get the right treatment in their teens is massively important and will improve their chances of succeeding in the game. If these problems can be picked up early by automatic testing, the better for everyone. On behalf of all professional footballers I would like to show my support for the new centre’s research.”
Gary Lewin, the current permanent first-team physiotherapist for the England national football team added:
“Physiotherapists recommend regular physical activity to maintain good general health. It is therefore encouraging to see this investment in research to better understand the nature and impact of common sporting injuries. The learning from this work will help people exercise safely and keep active.”
Other activities being investigated in the research include rugby, Olympic Games, horse racing and athletics.
The Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis has the backing of leading sports organisations including the International Olympic Committee, Rugby Football Union, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, UK Athletics, the FA and the Professional Footballers Association.
The centre is a consortium of seven universities led by Nottingham University Hospitals and the Universities of Nottingham and Oxford, and involving the Universities of Southampton, Bath, Loughborough, Leeds and University College London.
For more information about looking after your joints when exercising visit www.arthritisresearchuk.org. If you are interested in taking part in the research contact
centre administrators: Joanne.bartram@nuh.nhs.uk or Lis.alhstrom@ndorms.ox.ac.uk
[1] Survey of 3,000 members of the public who took the Arthritis Research UK ‘Taking the pain out of sport’ survey in 2011.
Source

Back pain steroid injection therapy may increase risk of spinal fracture

 

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Rosemont, Ill. –Most aging adults will experience back pain or a spinal disorder at some time in their life. In fact, about 25.8 million visits were made to physicians’ offices due to primary back problems. Treatment focuses on pain relief and is available in both non-surgical (medication or physical therapy) and surgical forms.
A retrospective study in the June 5th issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) looked at one type of back treatment– a lumbar epidural steroid injection (LESI) – and whether or not that treatment had an impact on bone fragility and vertebral fractures (spinal fractures). A higher number of injections was associated with increased risk. Authors concluded that LESIs may lead to increased bone fragility over time, and while injection therapy is useful in some cases, it should be approached cautiously for patients at risk for fractures associated with osteoporosis.
Patients at a high risk for vertebral fractures after an epidural injection include older women, those who have had an earlier fracture, those who smoke and those who are underweight. Young and active male patients have a lower risk of vertebral fracture.
“In the appropriate setting, and for the right patient, LESI provides effective symptomatic relief and improved level of function, said Shlomo Mandel, MD, MPH, lead author of the JBJS study and orthopaedic surgeon at Henry Ford Health System. “Through careful screening and monitoring steroid exposure, the risk of a fracture can be minimized. As orthopaedic surgeons who specialize in spine, we know there is a role for injection therapy, but the challenge is to make sure it is administered safely and still provide long-term benefits.”

Study Details and Key Findings:

• Authors identified a total of 50,345 patients who had medical diagnosis codes involving the spine and from that group, a total of 3,415 patients had received at least one LESI.
• 3,000 patients were randomly selected from the 3,415 injected population, and then 3,000 patients from the non-injected group were selected as a control group. The incidence of vertebral fractures was assessed.
• There was no significant difference between the injected and non-injected groups with respect to age, sex, race, hyperthyroidism, or corticosteroid use.
• An increasing number of injections were associated with an increasing likelihood of fractures, and each successive injection increased the risk of spinal fracture by 21 percent.

“It’s important to remember that when contemplating an epidural steroid injection a physician should have a symptomatic history, physical findings and corresponding imaging of direct pressure on a single nerve, ” added Dr. Mandel. “Together with our patient, we review the benefits and risks of alternative treatments before selecting an epidural steroid injection.”
Dr. Mandel and his co-authors agree that more research is warranted on this relationship. They have a prospective study on vertebral fractures and injection therapy in the works.
Source

Health club industry leaders make their mark on Capitol Hill and across the nation

 

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

BOSTON, June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Leaders from the club industry gathered on Capitol Hill during National Physical Fitness and Sports Month in May. They pulled together to urge Congress to support public policies and legislation to help create a national environment that champions physical activity and healthy lifestyles–the building blocks for a healthy workforce, economy, and nation. Their gathering was part of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association’s (IHRSA) 11th Annual Summit for a Healthier America on May 14 and 15.
“For two days in May, the club industry was on Capitol Hill urging Congress to support legislation to promote physical activity in an effort to restore the health of our nation,” said Joe Moore, IHRSA’s President and CEO. “But every day, all across America,  club owners and operators are moving our country toward greater economic and national security by leading our local communities toward healthier lifestyles.”
Presentations at IHRSA’s Summit made clear that moving America back to wellness–and especially solving the dual problem of physical inactivity and obesity–won’t be simple. These are complex issues affected by many aspects of American life and influenced by all sectors of society.
Attendees at IHRSA’s Summit clearly demonstrated that the industry is a critically important part of the solution. In fact, the club industry is a composite of a million solutions–all working in tandem across America to reverse the plague of inactivity and unhealthy lifestyles that has undermined our nation’s health, economy, competitiveness, and global standing.
“The … club industry is central to solving our nation’s physical and fiscal health problems,” said Helen Durkin, IHRSA’s Executive Vice President of Public Policy. “And although not every club owner or manager is able to come to Washington, D.C. for the Summit each year, the role they play on the local level is both essential and valued.”
“What we do on the national level in Washington affects clubs and the communities they serve,” Durkin continued. “But what clubs do on the local level equally affect what happens in Washington. As our Summit’s keynote speaker reminded us, ‘Politics is local.’ Club professionals are the foot soldiers for change in America. Collectively, we have the power to create a national groundswell for increased physical activity, healthy lifestyles, and primary prevention. From Main Street in our hometowns–to K Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Capitol Hill in Washington, DC–we are the drivers for positive change in America. We are a vibrant and healthy ‘change’ industry.”
During the two-day Summit, industry leaders spoke to Members of Congress and their staffs about specific pieces of legislations, including the Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act; the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act; and the Physical Activity Guidelines Act. Industry leaders also requested full funding for the Carol M. White “PEP” grants.

IHRSA and many other health-promotion organizations–which have been working tirelessly to foster a national climate wherein physical activity and healthy lifestyles become the easy choice for all Americans–applauded Congress on May 23 when it introduced three bills aimed at promoting physical activity: The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAG) Act, the Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids (FIT Kids) Act, and the Promoting Health for Youth Skills in Classrooms and Life (PHYSICAL) Act.
The Impact of America’s Clubs
Change operates on the ripple effect. And all across our country, clubs are working in their local communities to affect change toward a healthier, more prosperous America.
Because of health clubs:
– More than 51 million Americans are finding support and encouragement to
exercise and live healthy lives.
– More than $21 billion are being pumped into economies across America as
more than 30,000 club facilities work to inspire millions of
Americans to embrace a culture of health and wellness.
– Hundreds of thousands of families are providing their children with the
memories and legacy of enjoyable physical activity and active lifestyles.
– Hundreds of thousands of Americans with diabetes, heart disease, cancer,
arthritis and other illnesses are finding it easier to manage their
chronic conditions and enjoy life.
– Hundreds of thousands of Americans confronted with stress, anxiety and
depression are finding a healthy way to cope–along with the social and
professional support of other club members and fitness professionals.
– An unstoppable movement of wellness–and the belief in a strong America
for generations to come–is taking hold across the country, one club and one healthy community at a time.
How Health Clubs Create a Positive Domino Effect on Wellness in America
When people exercise:
– They improve their health. Wellness goes up. The risk of type 2 diabetes,
heart disease, arthritis, dementia, depression, anxiety, osteoporosis and
even some cancers goes down.
– They better control their weight. Fitness goes up. Obesity goes down.
– They build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints. Mobility and
its enjoyment go up. Immobility and pain go down.
– They decrease their likelihood of falling. Balance improves. Fall-related
injuries drop.
– Their energy levels go up. Enjoyment and productivity on the job
increase. Presenteeism goes down.
– They are more productive at work. Employees succeed. Employers profit.
– They stimulate their creative thinking. Ideas are borne. Solutions are
found.
– Their mood lifts. Feeling good becomes a regular part of life. Quality of
life improves.
– Their stress levels go down. The ability to cope improves. Stress-induced
fatigue, illness, and unhealthy behaviors diminish.
– We all enjoy the benefits of wellness. Healthcare costs are contained.
Dollars are saved. The vision for a healthier, more prosperous America is
realized.
SOURCE IHRSA

The 5 so-called healthy foods to avoid

 

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Newswise — Think twice before grabbing foods labeled sugar-free, fat-free or whole-wheat. Recent studies show people tend to let their guard down and eat twice as much or more of these foods because they are marketed as healthy food products.
“Consumer food marketing can be extremely persuasive and the right buzzword on a package can lure a shopper into making an unwise purchase,” said Kari Kooi, a registered dietician at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “We need to educate consumers on how to read nutrition labels so they can avoid falling prey to the ‘health halo’ effect.”
Here are Kooi’s top five foods to avoid:
• Vegetable Chips: Vegetable chips are marketed as a healthy substitute for vegetables, but most brands have nutrition labels that read the same as a regular potato chip. Vegetable chips contain vegetable powders. Once a vegetable is processed into a chip, many of the nutrients are lost and the calories increase because fat is added. Nutrients are lost as a result of processes that expose food to heat, light and oxygen. You’re better off eating vegetables.

• Nutrient-Enhanced Waters: Most nutrient-enhanced waters are nothing more than colored sugar
water loaded with empty calories that can contribute to weight gain. The beverages that claim to be a healthy choice because of added vitamins are marketing hype. The added vitamins are useless to the majority of people since our bodies get adequate amounts from other dietary sources. The body only uses what it needs and excretes the rest. A better option would be taking a daily multivitamin with a glass of water.
• Muffins: Muffins may look like a healthier option than a doughnut, especially when sprinkled with a few oats or studded with blueberries, but don’t fool yourself. Made with refined white flour and plenty of oil and refined sugar, muffins are nothing more than cupcakes without icing. Many coffee shop muffins are mega-sized and can easily top 500 to 600 calories.
• Premade Smoothies: Most premade commercial smoothies are syrupy concoctions loaded with calories and sugar. The sugar rush these beverages provide can leave you with a subsequent energy slump. Keep the calories in check by making fresh smoothies with high-quality, nourishing ingredients like low-fat Greek yogurt, skim milk and fresh or frozen fruits.
• Frozen Yogurt: Frozen yogurt is a delicious summertime treat made with low-fat or fat-free dairy ingredients, but it’s definitely not calorie-free. Most include a hefty amount of added sugar. Many of the live and active cultures added to frozen yogurt are not able to survive freezing, so don’t count on any probiotic benefits.

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